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"We’re one of the most wired cities in the world, but there’s still much we can do to bring the benefits of this technology revolution to all segments of our city." -Mayor Greg Nickels Bill Schrier was confirmed by the City Council on December 8 as Seattle's Chief Technology Officer and Director of the Department of Information Technology. Bill served as DoIT's Operations Director prior to his appointment by Mayor Greg Nickels. In introducing Bill's nomination, Councilmember Jan Drago noted his twenty-year career with the City and said the Council was impressed by the breadth of his knowledge and ability to articulate a vision of the future for IT in this City. Brainstorm congratulates Bill. As a tribute to a Seattle community leader who embodied the spirit of our goals, the City of Seattle Technology Matching Fund will now be called the Bill Wright Technology Matching Fund. William H. (Bill) Wright, recently deceased, lived the vision of community technology. He created a computer lab at Midtown and used it as a tool to build community. Bill was instrumental in bringing economic prosperity and opportunity back to the 23rd and Union community. Janet Jensen will join the Office of Cable Communications in the
position of cable franchise analyst, beginning January 14, 2003. Janet comes to us from the Seattle City Attorney's Office where she
has been a paralegal in the Municipal Law Section for the last two
years. Prior to joining the City Attorney's Office, Janet worked in
the telecommunications and cable industry as a regulatory affairs
analyst for a start-up CLEC in Colorado and as a contract docket manager
for AT&T Communications in Denver, Colorado. She is very excited about
getting back to the ever-changing and exciting world of cable and the
opportunity to work with the Office of Cable Communications. Janet is originally from Omaha, Nebraska where she received her M.B.A.
from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She moved to Washington from
Colorado a little over three years ago with her two children, ages six and 10,
and her husband, Tim, who is a photojournalist for Evening Magazine and
Northwest Backroads on KING-TV. Janet's favorite things to do outside
of work include boating, biking, camping, tennis, rollerblading and
scrapbooking. January 20 January 29 Join PSACT. For more information, visit www.psact.org.
by Derrick Hall Advantages: This tool will allow an administrator of a lab or single PC to create up to six different user profiles with different restrictions that can be activated with the push of a button and transferred to multiple machines. This software also has a default restriction list of areas a non-administrator can access, such as the control panel. Disadvantages: There is no software support from the creators. The product only supports Win2K/XP Pro with a PC hard drive that is formatted as an NTFS drive and not a member of a domain. You also are limited to only six user accounts. An open source version of this product is expected to become available by the summer of 2004. This product is very helpful for a computer lab with a non-technical administrator who wants to create some sort of security on his or her machines. Because this software uses all the native windows security settings, I would strongly suggest having a back up plan such as DeepFreeze installed, so that if a user does by pass your security, all can be restored. Seattle has the toughest local cable privacy law in the country. If you are a City of Seattle cable customer you should have received or will receive your cable company's annual privacy notice by the end of the year. In addition to their privacy notice, cable operators are required to provide you with a stamped, self-addressed postcard that you can use to tell the operator that you do not want your name and address
to be used for any purpose other than to provide you with the cable or Internet service that you have requested. If you want to prevent the cable operator from disclosing your name and address to marketers, we urge you to complete and mail the postcard. You do not have to include your telephone number. If you have not received your privacy notice, please contact the Office of Cable Communications at (800) 266-2278. To read
the full text of Seattle's cable privacy law, please visit the City's Cable Privacy web site. Council Conversations is a new public affairs program featuring informal talks with members of the Seattle City Council, broadcast every Thursday night at 7 p.m. on the Seattle Channel. The staff talks one-on-one with members of the Council about their committee work, policy interests and wherever else the conversation leads them. See schedule for dates and times. Watch them on TV or on the Seattle Channel web site. get a jobFull-time position: International District Family Center Coordinator. Must be fluent in Vietnamese and/or Chinese. Develop and manage programs for the International District Family Center to provide cultural and linguistic family support to Chinese and Vietnamese-speaking immigrants and refugee families. $2,138-$2993/month. Submit cover letter and resume to:
International District Family Center, a partnership of Chinese Information Service Center and Helping Link, archivesBack issues of Brainstorm are now available in our online archives. Click to revisit all previous issues. sub/unsubTo subscribe or unsubscribe to Brainstorm, please email us, and we'll add you to our email notification list, or subtract you per your request. Tell your colleagues. We welcome your feedback and opinions. If you have ideas for future stories, please let us know and we'll try to accommodate them. We encourage you to visit the City of Seattle's Community Tech pages, seattle.gov/tech.
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sandra mears: first psact directorThe Puget Sound Alliance for Community Technology has announced the hiring of Sandra Mears as executive director. Sandra will enable the Alliance to broaden its offerings of professional development training, technical assistance and resource development. Sandra has already started meeting with CTC members and will expand outreach to Puget Sound area community technology centers and program providers. As the first and lead PSACT staff person, Sandra will provide a vital link to partners, funders and other organizations concerned with developing technology healthy communities. Sandra has extensive experience with human services programs. Her experience includes work with the Salvation Army and Pioneer Human Services. She served as an Americorps volunteer at SeaMar, working to improve low-income resident access to health care. Along the way she obtained her MPA in non-profit management from Seattle University. She is on the Board for the University Food Bank. Sandra can be contacted at (206) 850-1502. A breakfast reception will be held on January 16 to welcome her. Look for an invitation soon. The PSACT office space, with free parking, will be located at the Uptown Center at 157 Roy St., also the home of the Queen Anne/Magnolia Neighborhood Service Center and Easter Seals. Welcome Sandra! hats off to outgoing cttab folksThanks to retiring CTTAB members Mike Donlin, Rhonda Allison and Robin Oppenheimer for their service on the Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB). Rhonda served as board chair of the Community Technology Committee. In this role, she helped guide the Bill Wright Technology Matching Fund and the board’s work on sustainability that led to PSACT. She helped the board and staff become aware of challenges facing immigrant communities, especially in workforce preparation. Mike Donlin has been our link to the K-12 system, focusing on partnerships and educational achievement. He contributed a great deal to the development of PSACT and smoothed the way for some school based projects. Mike will continue to help bridge the technology and achievement gap as a board member of PSACT. Robin Oppenheimer has been our public access representative. She also brought an ongoing awareness of the role of the arts community. Robin helped the City look at the broad picture of future cable planning and civic engagement. She has promised to continue to stay active for the cable franchise renewal and community needs assessment. Volunteers make a difference. Thanks to all three for hours and hours of work, dedication and willingness to share their expertise. rectech auction a successSaturday, November 8, was a gala night for the RecTech Coalition (RTC)! The 1st annual “Pathway to Your Dreams” Dinner Auction was deemed a success. A total of $10,000 was raised toward sustainability of the seven community labs! To the many patrons who generously contributed cash, in-kind donations, and items, we applaud you. Guest speakers Charles Young and Wayne Perryman inspired the audience to leave no child behind; the dessert auction was a hilarious competition for some of the most decadent desserts you could imagine; plus some pretty good auction bargains were had by all. On top of all that, the crowd enjoyed the smooth sounds of the Emerald City Jazz Ensemble and great food! The slide show presentation, created by Ellen Earth, was a wonderful musical pictorial of our labs at their best, supporting our communities through interaction and technology training. To make the evening even more special, eight teens who regularly participate in programming and use the RTC labs, volunteered to challenge themselves by performing some of the more critical functions of the evening. They were quite festive, dressed in tuxedos donated by Brocklind’s Tuxedo Shop. They were awesome and did RTC proud! According to Belinda Green of the RTC Fundraiser Committee, "The night was important in that it was the beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing annual event. We are just starting to get the word out about our programs and trust our efforts will inspire you to support us. Help us to lead as many kids and adults on the “Pathway to Their Dreams.” To the volunteers behind the scene for their countless efforts in making this evening a success, a special thank you! ctc wish list:
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Those with greater access to technology have greater access to justice, the law and the court system. Whether you are paying fines online, requesting hearings, checking court dates, researching legal rights, looking for an attorney, or applying for public benefits, access at your fingertips saves time, money and helps all of us protect our rights and receive justice in the legal system. In response, a new Bill of Rights, the Washington State Access to Justice Technology Bill of Rights, has been created by the Washington State Access to Justice Board, and its ATJ-TBoR Committee. This groundbreaking document has been endorsed by many organizations and bodies and will soon be submitted for adoption by the Washington State Supreme Court. The authors believe that, “The use of technologies in the Washington State justice system must protect and advance the fundamental right of equal access to justice.” The ATJ Bill of Rights project has been led by former Judge Donald Horowitz, who brought together a broad consortium of legal, technology and community experts with support from the Washington State Bar Association. David Keyes of the City of Seattle, Marilyn Scheck and Daria Cal of the Seattle Public Library, and Jean Holcomb of the King County Law Library Research and Training Center are among the many participants in the project. |
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A group of Community Tech Center leaders, Jacque Cook from Westwood, Tsegaye Gebru from Horn of Africa, and Rhonda Allison shared their reality from the community technology centers as part of the process. Richard Zorza helped guide the committee's work.
This ATJ Tech Bill of Rights does not mandate new expenditures, create new causes of action, or repeal or modify any rule. Rather, it requires that justice system decision-makers consider access to justice, take certain steps whenever technology that may affect access to justice is planned or implemented, avoid reducing access, and whenever possible, use technology to enhance access to justice. According to Don Horowitz, the ATJBOR "is an essential landmark work, the first in the country to declare that the new technologies are powerful tools that must be put at the service of the basic values of our country and of our system of justice -- equality, fairness and inclusion.... We must plan and design and inject our fundamental values into the technology and its implementation and use. What better place to start than the justice system, which is the place where all our other essential rights are supposed to be secured and protected.... We must use this new tool of technology to help increase and deliver access to justice and justice itself to every person in our state." The Access to Justice Technology Bill of Rights, resources to make it a reality, and symposium information is available at the ATJ web site. |
cable office stops rate increase
Although Comcast cable company is raising rates in January 2004 for basic cable service across the country, Seattle subscribers to limited basic service will not see an increase. The City of Seattle exercised its regulatory authority recently to prevent the increase for limited cable service (the lowest-priced service tier), which Comcast had said it would increase from $12.30 per month to $13.00 per month. As a result, Comcast will not increase the rate for limited basic service for Seattle customers - it will remain at $12.30. Comcast customers will receive a corrected notice in January.
Comcast has informed the City that it will maintain its increase on the unregulated portion, and as a result, will increase its rate for expanded basic from $36.99 to $39.99 effective January 1, 2004. Comcast has about 140,000 cable television subscribers in Seattle, of which about 15,000 subscribe to the lowest-priced service tier. Seattle’s Office of Cable Communications (OCC) has overall responsibility for issues related to cable television and cable Internet service for Seattle residents.
ctcstaff gets new email address
CTCSTAFF, the email discussion list for community technology lab staff, has a new email address. As of December 15, 2003, the old email address, ctcstaff@list.seattle.gov, was inactivated and replaced with the new address, communitytech@talk.seattle.gov. Questions? Please contact Derrick Hall at derrick.hall@seattle.gov or call him at (206) 233-5061.
CTCSTAFF is an interactive group discussion for the sharing of questions, advice, news and resources like tips and tools. New members are encouraged to join and participate. Just fill out this form, and you'll receive a welcoming email with your username and a randomly generated password.
Already on the list? You may continue to use the discussion list by email, as you have in the past, but you must use the new email address.
d.o.l.l.a.r.s
Engagement Innovation Test Fund
Deadline: January 7, 2004
Common Assets
The Common Assets Defense Fund is seeking proposals for creative efforts to engage or recruit new members and activists in the work of a public interest organization while educating the public about the organization's mission. Grants of between $3,000 and $6,000 for a short-term project (six months or less) are competitively available to public charities that qualify under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and wish to undertake a project with replicable results.
Grants for School Technology Programs
Deadline: December 31, 2003
Best Buy Children's Foundation
The Best Buy's Children's Foundation is offering support to schools and educators who use technology "to make learning fun." The foundation's Teach program awards grants of $2,500 in support of school programs or projects that creatively integrate interactive technology into the curriculum. This year, $3 million will be awarded to 1,200 schools across the United States. Applications must be completed by full-time teachers who have been teaching at the school for at least one full academic year. For information, click on the link above.
Microenterprise Development Program
Deadline: Apply Online by January 23, 2004
Hewlett-Packard Company
HP is requesting proposals for participation in the Microenterprise Development Program, a grant initiative targeting nonprofit microenterprise development agencies that serve clients in low-income communities in the United States. Each grant award will have a total list price value of $150,000 to $250,000 in equipment, cash, services and support. Get more info on their web site, above.
Electronic Waste Recycling Grants
Deadline: December 31, 2003
Dell Recycling Grant Program
Twelve grantees will be awarded $10,000 to be used toward the organization, promotion, staging and processing involved in an effective, no-charge, "No Computer Should Go To Waste" one-day computer collection event. Dell will provide $10,000 grants to 12 cities to host one-day computer collection events. Twelve grantees will be selected to stage events taking place from February 1 through June 30, 2004. Read more on their web site.
l.i.n.k.a.g.e
Holiday Giving Links
Good Green Homes Looking for a green holiday gift?
Check out the new book, "Good Green Homes: Creating Better Homes for a Healthier Planet" by GreenClips editor Jennifer Roberts. In bookstores nationwide.
GreaterGood.com
Shop online at GreaterGood.com, and up to 15 percent of every purchase automatically goes to the local and national charities, K-12 schools or college scholarship funds you select.
Servenet.org
Giving need not imply spending. Volunteer your time to worthy orgs. Go to their web site and click on "Seattle."
ResponsibleShopper.org
Discover the good, the bad and the ugly behind the products you buy everyday — from clothing to shoes to toothpaste. Investigate hundreds of companies on a range of issues, including: Sweatshops, Pollution, Ethics, Discrimination and more. Free.